What To Watch In Oregon's Opener

EUGENE, Ore. — Eight months after a thrilling late-season run that took them all the way to the Sweet Sixteen of the NCAA Tournament, the Oregon men's basketball team returns to action Tuesday night.

The Ducks open their 2019-20 regular season by hosting Fresno State in Matthew Knight Arena (6 p.m., Pac-12 Network). The UO men are looking to win their season opener for the 22nd year in a row, with a victory making Dana Altman Oregon's all-time winningest coach — he's currently tied with Ernie Kent at 235 career wins with the Ducks.

Some things to watch in the Ducks' opener …

1. After an infusion of talent from the latest recruiting class and some transfers, what will the Ducks' rotation look like?

The only certainty, Altman said Monday, is that senior point guard Payton Pritchard will be a starter. He's one of just three players in UO history to reach 1,000 points, 400 rebounds and 400 assists in his career, and he could finish as the program record holder for assists, steals and wins.

Beyond that? "Those thing take until January" to figure out, Altman said.

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Sophomore big man Francis Okoro and sophomore wing Will Richardson are the other returning scholarship players, but Okoro missed the Ducks' Green & Yellow Scrimmage last week with an injury. How Tuesday's lineup shakes out will depend on his availability.

Beyond that, the Ducks have some exciting freshmen in Chandler Lawson, C.J. Walker and Addison Patterson, with their classmate Lok Wur a candidate to redshirt, Altman said. Transfer Shakur Juiston is the top option in the post if Okoro isn't available, and transfers Anthony Mathis and Chris Duarte are dead-eye shooters.

"Hopefully I can make some shots," Mathis said. "But at the end of the day, whether we win is all that matters."

2. Oregon's style of play could evolve over the course of the season, as it did last year, but the Ducks on Tuesday could look to run more than they did late last season.

The Ducks aren't as big as they were late last year, when Kenny Wooten and Okoro patrolled the post — to say nothing of when the 2018-19 season began and Bol Bol was protecting the rim, too. This year's roster is packed with players standing between 6-foot-6 and 6-8, and their athleticism combined with the shooting threat of players like Pritchard, Mathis and Duarte could lead to more up-tempo, high-scoring games than the Ducks wanted to play in February and March of last season.

Altman said Oregon's ball movement and help defense will be points of emphasis in the early going, which is generally to be expected early in the year.

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"I'm ready," Richardson said. "We've been grinding, working. We've got a lot of new players, young players, but we're playing together."

3. The new-look Ducks will face a veteran Fresno State team Tuesday night.

The Bulldogs return two starters and four other veterans from a squad that went 23-9 last season. Forward Nate Grimes averaged 11.8 points and a team-leading 9.2 rebounds last season, and Noah Blackwell shot 41.5 percent from three-point range and was second on the team with 109 assists.

Oregon and Fresno State have played 14 times overall with the Ducks winning 12, including all nine previous matchups in Eugene.